Biochemical and biophysical research communications
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Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. · Dec 1996
Biosynthesis of taxol: enzymatic acetylation of 10-deacetylbaccatin-III to baccatin-III in crude extracts from roots of Taxus baccata.
The biosynthesis of taxol is a multistep process. One intermediate reaction is the acetylation of 10-deacetylbaccatin-III (10-DAB) to baccatin-III, an assumed precursor of taxol. Here we describe the cell free acetylation of 10-DAB in crude extracts from roots of Taxus baccata saplings using 14C-or 3H-labeled acetyl-coenzyme A as the acetyl donor. ⋯ Furthermore, the acetylation product showed an identical UV spectrum as authentic baccatin-III. Crude extracts from cambium of stems yielded three- to fivefold lower activity. This is in agreement with our finding that the taxol titer in roots was considerably higher than that in cambium.